Everything You Need To Know About SAMCRO in Sons of Anarchy (2024)

The hit FX series Sons of Anarchy revolves around the shady business operations of the motorcycle club SAMCRO and the personal drama that unfolds in the lives of its members. From the very first episode, it is a club that can't stay out of trouble. Throughout the show, they often collide with the law and allow the personal lives of their members to interfere with what is rarely a smooth operation. Despite all the loyalty and brotherhood that its members have for one another, There is also plenty of personal tragedy and betrayal that occurs.

The club goes through several trials and tribulations throughout the series. It is the portrayal of those struggles, however, that helps make them a group worth getting emotionally invested in. There is quite a long and storied history established behind the club and all that it does. But what exactly does its history entail? Perhaps more importantly, where does it stand after the series finale of both Sons of Anarchy and its spin-off series, Mayans M.C.?

This article was updated on July 2, 2024, by Christopher Raley: The Sons of Anarchy follows the conflicting loyalties of its members as they get deeper into crime and try to uphold the club before all others. This article has been updated to meet CBR's current publication standards.

What is SAMCRO?

And What Does the Acronym Mean?

In the fictional world of Sons of Anarchy, SAMCRO (an acronym for "Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original") was the brainchild of Vietnam War veterans John Teller and Piermont "Piney" Winston and was originally founded in 1967. The club is one of 36 Sons of Anarchy charters within the United States and 12 others overseas and was initially created with the sole intent of social and societal rebellion. SAMCRO was stationed in the fictional Northern California town of Charming. John and Piney originally held the respective positions of the club's President and Vice President.

After the tragic death of the former and the health complications of the latter eventually forced him to step down from his position, John's brother-in-arms, Clay, and son, Jax, take up the mantle of President and Vice President in the club's hierarchy. Under Clay's leadership, however, the club moves away from the initial vision and mission of rebellion that John and Piney had in mind at its inception. Instead, the club begins to entangle itself with numerous shady figures. Becoming gun runners for various criminal organizations, the crew formed alliances that they come to regret as the rest of the series unfolds.

SAMCRO As An Organization Has A Strained Relationship With The Rules

They Followed And Broke Rules As They Saw Fit

SAMCRO members run the club democratically, but they also submit (more or less) to strict rules and regulations to keep it running as orderly as possible. Certain rules are relatively straightforward, such as abiding by club votes, having no involvement with children, not dealing drugs, and giving obligatory support to members in trouble.

• One of the fundamental rules of the club is that if you don't have a bike, you don't get to vote.
• When club members ride together, they ride in formation, which means the President and Vice President ride out in front (or the Road Captain, if neither are present,) and a tail gunner usually rides in back, to help other members.

While these rules are meant to keep the members in line and prevent them from crossing any boundaries, the SAMCRO brothers either bend or break them entirely to satisfy their own needs. Clay has no problem breaking the golden rule of never taking out another member in his murders of Keith and Piney. He also asks Tig to kill Opie when he is misled into believing that Opie is a rat for the ATF. Jax deliberately breaks the rule of never acting against the club's president when he attempts and later succeeds in killing Clay. ​

Who Are SAMCRO's Original Members?

And What Happens To Them?

Throughout the 1960s and well into the '80s and '90s, under John and Piney's original leadership, SAMCRO consisted of nine members, most of whom were Vietnam War veterans. These members consisted of Wally Grazer, Thomas "Uncle Tom" Whitney, Chico Villanueva, and Otto "Lil Killer" Moran, all of whom were deceased before the series picked up in 2008.

At the start of the series, fellow founding member Keith McGee moved to Belfast to become the leader of SAMBEL (the group's Belfast charter), but he eventually meets his death at the hands of Clay in Season 3 for his acts of betrayal. After the death of Clay in Season 6, Lenny "The Pimp" Janowitz (who is serving a life sentence at Stockton State Prison in 1989 for the murder of three ATF agents) is the only surviving member of the First 9.

Who Are SAMCRO's Members As Of 2008?

What Happens To Them In the Series?

At the start of Sons of Anarchy, the club under Clay's leadership has an entirely new set of members. This new lineup includes Jax Teller and the tragically fated Opie Winston, the two sons of the club's founders. Even though he can no longer carry out his duties as Vice President due to emphysema, Piney remains an active patched participant in the club. Other new members include "Bobby" Munson, the violent "Tig" Trager, Scotsman "Chibs" Telford, Juan Carlos "Juice" Ortiz, and Kip "Half-Sack" Epps, who, being a prospect, is often handed the most undesirable tasks of the group and is often the butt of many of their jokes.

• Prospects (prospective members) have to do whatever they are told (no matter how awful it is) if they ever want to become "fully patched" members.
• Members can never hurt the pets of other members. Ever.

Several others join the club throughout the series, but none of them play as big a role in the story as the ones previously mentioned. In the series finale, Jax manages to alter the SAMCRO bi-laws that would end the group's discriminatory membership policies against black people (which had caused trouble for Juice when he realized he was partially of African American descent), allowing his friend T.O. Cross, leader of the Grim Bastards club, to become the group's first black member.

What Is The Irish Branch Of SAMCRO

The Irish Chapter Of SAMCRO Is In Belfast

The Belfast Chapter of SAMCRO is notable primarily because of its connection to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) or the True IRA as it is referred to in the show. The True IRA bankrolls its organization through a variety of criminal activities, including human trafficking and gun running. The latter is the most important to SAMCRO. The Belfast Chapter has been buying Russian-made guns from the IRA for years, and now so does SAMCRO through a contact named Cameron Hayes.

• Cameron is first seen in Season 1 and is shot in the leg when the Mayans attack a bar where he is drinking with Clay Morrow and Tig.
• He needs a hospital, but Tara Knowles comes and stitches him up.

In Season 3, Cameron and his son Edmond get crosswise of SAMCRO and Edmond gets killed. Cameron kills Half-Sack and kidnaps Jax Teller's son Able in retaliation. This creates poor relations between SAMCRO and the True IRA, but Father Kellan Ashby, a leader in the IRA, has Cameron killed. Later, Jax goes to Belfast to find Able in the care of Cameron's cousin Maureen.

What Becomes of SAMCRO in the World of Sons of Anarchy?

Are There Any Members Left To Carry On the Club?

At the end of Sons of Anarchy, it seems, in one sense, like SAMCRO is in a much more secure position. With Jax having killed August Marks, this prevented the possibility of the crime boss coming after SAMCRO after they framed him for Pastor Jonathan Haddem's murder. When the Sons of Anarchy spin-off, Mayans M.C., catches up with the group, it could be assumed that things in the group are running smoothly, until they aren't. Conflict arises in Season 2 with the death of SAMCRO member Allesandro Montez, whose body is found on Mayan territory, and creates the possibility of an all-out war between the two groups. This also opened the door for characters like Chibs, Tig, and others to make returning guest appearances in the following episodes.

• Members of SAMCRO are like brothers with the President and his wife acting like Mom and Dad. As a result, no one leaves a brother behind.
• This demands a lot of loyalty from club members to the extent that loyalty to the club comes before loyalty to anything else (wives and kids included).

Despite the initial intentions that John and Piney had in mind for SAMCRO, it was a club that was far from perfect. Their efforts to avoid trouble with the law usually failed. Yet all the tragedies and major flaws of each of its members make viewers care about them that much more. Not only would they be a far less interesting group without those struggles, but Sons of Anarchy would never have become the show that audiences continue to rave about.

Sons of Anarchy and Mayans MC are both available to stream on Hulu.

Sons of Anarchy

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Action

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A biker struggles to balance being a father and being involved in an outlaw motorcycle club.

Release Date

September 3, 2008

Cast

Charlie Hunnam , Katey Sagal , Kim Coates , Mark Boone Junior , Tommy Flanagan , Ron Perlman , Johnny Lewis

Main Genre

Crime

Seasons

7

Creator

Kurt Sutter

Number of Episodes

92

Network

FX

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu